Tagged!

It was kind of hard to think of random things about me but it was kind of fun, so here we go.


1. I have a serious phobia of mice. It didn't help that we caught like 30 of them in our condo in Ohio. Hopefully we don't have the same problem in California. I don't know what it is about the furry little critters but it just makes me shiver to think about them.


2. When I graduated from high school I got to tour Europe for a month. Thanks mom and dad for spoiling me.

3. When I lived in Tennessee I lived down the street from Reba McEntire. I never saw her but I saw her horses a lot.


4. I am a tosser. I can't stand clutter. It gives me anxiety.


5. When I was a little girl, I used to think that if you drove far enough in any direction you would be able to touch the sky.


6. I am surrounded by big headed boys. My 5 year old thinks that he is always right and when my husband was 5 he told his kindergarten teacher that he is smarter than God. At least he doesn't think it now or else we would be in trouble.

I tag Bonnie Clark, Sarah Jackson, and Shannon Pickett.

Califoria Here We Come!

Last Saturday we said goodbye to Ohio and began our journey west toward Los Angeles. We began our trip at 8:00 am Saturday morning and arrived in Billings, Montana around 5:00 pm on Sunday afternoon to spend a few days visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Garfield. The trip took about a total of 36 hours. Yes, we are a little bit crazy to attempt such a thing with 3 kids but now that it is over I am glad that we did it that way because it meant that we arrived in Montana sooner and had more time to spend with Grandma and Grandpa. Now we are here in Montana safe and sound. The kids did remarkably well on the trip considering that they had to sit in the van that long. We played a lot of I spy games, watched a lot of movies, and saw tons of corn fields and big red barns. We were able to stop off and see Shawn, Byrdie, and Myleigh in Milwaukee (Shawn is Jim's brother). We stayed there for a few hours. They were so nice to feed us dinner and let us stay for a while. The kids had a blast playing in their yard and it was a nice break for them. In the middle of the night we stopped at a rest stop and slept for a few hours too. I felt so bad for making the kids do that but we all survived and are now catching up on lost sleep.

We're off to a good start

Still happy. . .

. . . but not for long!

playing at Shawn and Byrdie's

The best investment we ever made!!

Tomorrow we will be driving to Utah and will be staying there for a week, then we are off to our new home in Los Angeles, California. It is still hard for me to believe that we are actually going to be living in LA. It will be an exciting adventure for our family.

Luke's Surgery Update

I thought I would give you all an update on Luke. He had another surgery a couple days ago. Oh, excuse me for a minute. I just realized that Ben is behind me is shoveling powdered sugar into his mouth as fast as he can. . . . . Ok, I'm back. Oh, if only I had eyes in the back of my head. Anyway, back to Luke. His surgery was Thursday and we were able to come home that afternoon. The hemangioma was still quite large and the doctor said that it was actually growing on the other side of the trachea as well. Before it was just growing on the left side, so the doctor was a little concerned. He was able to laser it all off and we will be taking him in for another surgery shortly after we get to California (in about 4 weeks). We are in the process of finding a specialist there. I have no idea how much longer we will need to do these surgeries. We will just keep plugging along until the hemangioma stops growing. I really hope that it is soon. About 4 days before his surgery he wasn't feeling well and was having a really hard time so Jim was able to give him a blessing. Shortly after the blessing he was doing much better. I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood and for the power of prayer. I think I would have been a wreck this last year without it. It has definitely helped us through a lot of hard and stressful times with Luke. Thank you for all of your prayers in our behalf as well. We love you all and look forward to seeing you soon on our way to California.

We Love You Amber

Last week Jim's sister Amber came to stay with us and it was so much fun to have her here. It is not often that we get to have family come and visit us so when they do it is really a big deal for my kids. They love it! It's a big deal for Jim and me too. It was great to have an adult to talk to during the day. The boys had the best week with their aunt and I just wanted to say thank you to Amber for humoring my kids. I seriously think that she read every book that we have to them at least 3 times, funny voices and all. Not only that, but she sang to them, played with them, had sleepovers downstairs, did craft projects, took funny pics on her computer, made them aprons for cooking and painting projects, went to the zoo, went to the science center, went to the park, laughed with them non stop, and the list just goes on and on. She also put up with my messy house, which I'm sure was the hardest part. Amber, you are the best aunt ever and we love you and can't wait to see you soon in Utah!!

Birthday Boy!

I can't believe my baby is 5 years old! He celebrated his birthday last Friday and he had the best birthday because Jim's sister Amber was here to celebrate with him. We went to the splash park and Jimmy went to every adult sitting around the play area and told them that it was his birthday and that he was big now because he is 5 years old. He is the happiest, friendliest kid. That's why I did a smily face cake for him (although it came out looking a little bit like a snowman face). Oh well, he loved it anyway.